Sunday 27 July 2014

23 July 2014: Evening in North Gloucestershire.

In the evening I set off for an area near in North Gloucestershire to see whether the Barn Owls would come out before it got too dark and got there about 19:00. I wasn't too hopeful as the weather had been good over the last few days so they should have had no problems feeding overnight. As I arrived and parked up , the first bird I met was a Chiffchaff in the Hawthorn bush beside the layby.

At the first sight of an Owl on the barn I was quite hopeful thta I might get an early dispaly, until I realised it was a Red Legged Partridge.
 I took a walk down the lane while I waited and found a Yellowhammer basking in the evening sun.
 There was a Hare skulking in one side of a field
with a rabbit on the other side.
 On the other side of the road were these 3 Roe deer, quietly munching away.
 As I made my way back towards the Owls, another Yellowhammer appeared.
 and another Chiffchaff

 It was starting to get gloomy now, 20:40, but it was possible to make out the 3 owlets, who were starting to move about the barn.
 Eventually at about 20:50, a pair of adults appeared and flew around together for a while before starting to hunt..





Unfortunately it was now getting too dark for photography so I watched a while longer before leaving for home.

4 comments:

  1. I've shared your pain on several occasions. Waited for Barn Owls only for them to appear just when the light got too poor. Eventually got some shots I was happy with by going early morning so that the light was gradually improving instead of worsening.

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  2. Lovely entry Bob. Never seen Barn Owls in the wild myself.

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  3. Takes me a while but do catch up with you eventually B_r_n ... Lovely to see what Barn Owls look like other than what I currently observe in box & barn at Arne & Cornwall on live cams, a great species to follow!

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  4. Bob what a lovely evening stroll seeing such a range of species. I've yet to spot any Owl hunting, but if I knew where to look I'd try Galatas' advice about being there as the light improves.

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